Bob Willis

For other people with the same name, see Robert Willis.

Bob Willis

MBE
Willis on the commentary team at Taunton, 2007
Personal information
Full name
Robert George Dylan Willis
Born(1949-05-30)30 May 1949
Sunderland, County Durham, England
Died4 December 2019(2019-12-04) (aged 70)
Wimbledon, London, England
NicknameGoose, Dylan, Harold, Swordfish[1]
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 448)9 January 1971 v Australia
Last Test16 July 1984 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 26)5 September 1973 v West Indies
Last ODI4 June 1984 v West Indies
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1969–1971Surrey
1970–1977Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
1972–1984Warwickshire
1972/73Northern Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA
Matches 90 64 308 293
Runs scored 840 83 2,690 615
Batting average 11.50 10.37 14.30 9.46
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/2 0/1
Top score 28* 24 72 52*
Balls bowled 17,357 3,595 47,990 14,983
Wickets 325 80 899 421
Bowling average 25.20 24.60 24.99 20.18
5 wickets in innings 16 0 34 4
10 wickets in match 0 0 2 0
Best bowling 8/43 4/11 8/32 7/32
Catches/stumpings 39/– 22/– 134/– 84/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  England
ICC Cricket World Cup
Runner-up 1979 England
Source: CricketArchive, 7 December 2007

Robert George Dylan Willis MBE (born Robert George Willis; 30 May 1949 – 4 December 2019) was an English cricketer, who represented England between 1971 and 1984. A right-handed fast bowler, Willis is regarded by many as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time.[2][3] He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.

He is England's fourth-highest wicket-taker, as of June 2023, behind James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Botham.[4][5] Willis took 899 first-class wickets overall, although from 1975 onwards he bowled with constant pain, having had surgery on both knees. He nevertheless continued to find success, taking a Test career-best eight wickets for 43 runs in the 1981 Ashes series against Australia, one of the all-time best Test bowling performances.[6] He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1978.[7]

In addition to the Test arena, Willis played 64 One Day International matches for his country, taking 80 wickets, and was a prolific List-A (one-day) cricketer with 421 wickets overall at 20.18. As a tail-ender, Willis made little impression with the bat, with a top Test score of 28 not-out (*); however, he managed two half-centuries at first-class level, and for a time held a record number of Test not-outs.[8] Willis captained the England team in 18 Tests and 28 ODI matches between June 1982 and March 1984. Under Willis's captaincy England won seven, lost five and drew six Tests, and won 16 of the ODIs. Botham recalled Willis as "a tremendous trier.. a great team-man and an inspiration",[9] as well as the "only world-class fast bowler in my time as an England player".[10] The editor of Wisden wrote of him in similar terms: "His indomitable service to England is handsomely reflected in his great collection of Test wickets. Although often beset with aches and pains, he never spared himself when bowling for his country."[11]

Retiring in 1984 during a Test series against the West Indies, Willis found later work as a commentator with Sky Sports. He formed a noted commentary partnership with Botham; however, Willis' relatively low-key style, in contrast to Botham's ebullience, meant that from 2006 onwards Willis tended to be used as a second-string commentator.[1][12] He remained an often-heard broadcaster, a published writer and an occasional critic of the modern game.[13][14] On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.[15] The Bob Willis Trophy was established in the 2020 English cricket season in his honour.[16] In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the special inductees to mark the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship final.[17][18]

  1. ^ a b "Player Profile: Bob Willis". CricInfo. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  2. ^ Playfair Cricket Annual. Queen Anne Press. 1985. p. 228. ISBN 0-356-10741-8.
  3. ^ "Bob Willis: The Fragile, Wholehearted Speedster – Wisden Almanack". Wisden. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. ^ 'Records for England in Test matches'. ESPN Cricinfo, undated, retrieved 17 June 2023
  5. ^ Selvey, Mike (16 January 2016). "Stuart Broad's six-wicket blitz guides England to series win in South Africa". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  6. ^ Miller, Andrew (29 July 2009). "Scattered stumps and hexed batsmen". CricInfo. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Bob Willis – Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1978". Wisden Almanack. CricInfo. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference an assessment was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Botham, p. 370.
  10. ^ Botham, p. 376.
  11. ^ Woodcock, John (1985). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Victor Gollancz. p. 51. ISBN 0-947766-00-6.
  12. ^ "'Death seems a better option than listening to those zombies'". CricInfo and Wisden. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  13. ^ Buckland, William (2008). Pommies: England Cricket Through An Australian Lens. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-906510-32-9.
  14. ^ Biggs, Simon (3 September 2003). "Ex-players call for reform". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  15. ^ "England's greatest Test XI revealed". International Cricket Council. 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  16. ^ "All First-Class Counties committed to playing same red-ball and white-ball competitions". England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ "ICC Hall of Fame special inductions announced to mark the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Andy Flower and Kumar Sangakkara among 10 players inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 June 2021.